Gender Discrimination In Australia

Throughout previous decades, it has been evident that society has been extremely patriarchal and the social status of women has been undermined. However women began questioning their rights within society, challenging various aspects of law such as sex discrimination, workplace discrimination and domestic violence. Within today’s society there is a diverse range of women from various cultural backgrounds. As societal opinions change over time the law has a profound duty to meet individual needs and protect the safety, freedom, security and equality of all women. Within the last 200 years, there has been a significant amount of legal responses in relation to discrimination in a wide range of areas. Due to these responses, women have been granted

In 1972, evidence suggests that only 18% of working women’s pay was equal to the work of males. The decision of the Equal pay Test Case 1969, suggested that men and women in the same occupations should receive an equal wage. However this decision has no effect on wages in professions which were female dominated. As a result of this case, the 1972 decision of Equal Pay Case (1972) established the principle of ‘equal work, equal value’ as well as the concept that work done in female dominated occupations could be compared to male dominated occupations. The two main pieces of legislation that controls discrimination in the workplace whether sexual or derogatory are the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) and the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth). Both of these make it illegal to harass any person in the workplace on the grounds of their gender or sex or in a sexual

In relation to this, the Equal Opportunity for Women Act 1999 (Cwlth) was created. The main concept of this act is to promote equal opportunities for women in employment, improve access for women to promotional positions, training and education and strategies to eliminate forms of sex-based discrimination in the workplace. The Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cwlth) focuses on promoting and improving gender equality outcomes for both men and women in workplaces. This act is the replacement for the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999. Discrimination that relates specifically to gender and marital status in employment and occupations is dealt with by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (Cwlth). This Act aims to promote the principle of equal employment opportunity for all people. These policies attempt to eliminate barriers against certain groups, such as women, in the